Overview

In Search of the Way is a history of intellectual and religious developments in Japan during the Tokugawa period, covering the years 1582-1860. It begins with an explanation of the fate of Christianity, and proceeds to cover the changing nature of the relationship between Buddhism and secular authority, new developments in Shinto, and the growth of 'Japanese studies'. The main emphasis, however, is on the process by which Neo-Confucianism captured the imagination of the intellectual class and informed debate throughout the period. This process was expressed in terms of a never-ending search for the Way, a mode and pattern of existence that could provide not only order for society at large, but self-fulfilment for the individual. The narrative traces how ideas and attitudes changed through time, and is based on the premise that the Tokugawa period is important in and of itself, not merely as a backdrop to the Meiji Restoration of 1868.

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9780191836534

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"""While there have been works published since then that would qualify as such, Bowring's volume is the latest, and perhaps the best, among them so far... His narrative style is lucid, and he provides sometimes rather detailed historical backgrounds for the ideas and figures he examines."" -- Mark T. McNally (University of Hawai�i at Manoa), Monumenta Nipponica 72:2 ""Bowring delivers on what he promises to do in his book and showcases the vitality of Tokugawa intellectual and religious history. The conceptual lens of the 'Way' works effectively and allows a variety of voices to be introduced with a certain sense of coherence. Most importantly, Bowring's book is an invaluable testament to the importance of taking Tokugawa religion and intellectual history seriously and on their own terms.""--Takashi Miura, Journal of Religion in Japan ""Professor Bowring's book is packed with information and insight, and will be revisited again and again by those who want to understand Japanese intellectual tradition.""--Joseph S. O'Leary, H-Buddhism"

Author Information

Richard Bowring graduated from the University of Cambridge with first class honours in Japanese in 1968, and a PhD in 1973. He has taught at Monash University, Columbia University, Princeton University, and the University of Cambridge, taking retirement in 2013. He was made an Honorary Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge in 2013, and was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon by the Japanese Government in 2013.

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